Flacco: 'It's definitely not the most fun position' to be Jackson's backup
As Baltimore Ravens rookie quarterback Lamar Jackson gets set to lead his team into Sunday's wild-card game against the Los Angeles Chargers, Super Bowl XLVII champion Joe Flacco has been relegated to a new role as the backup.
The 33-year-old was asked after Friday's practice if he's changing his routine.
"I don't know if it's going to be any more different or not," Flacco said, according to Jamison Hensley of ESPN. "It's definitely not the most fun position in the world. It is what it is."
Flacco remains under contract for the next three seasons and carries a cap hit of $26.5 million for 2019, which would account for 13.9 percent of the team's cap space. Cutting or trading him would create a dead cap penalty of $16 million, with that number being cut in half if the move is made with a post-June 1 designation.
With the Ravens expected to move on and receive upward of $10 million in cap relief by going either route, Sunday could mark the former first-round pick's final game at M&T Bank Stadium as a member of the home team. But he's hoping for a return later on in the postseason.
"I haven't really thought too much about it, to be honest with you. It is what it is," Flacco said. "We're a No. 4 seed. There's always a possibility that in the final round before the Super Bowl you can come back here. So you never know."
Jackson, the No. 32 selection of April's draft, won the starting job for the postseason - and likely the foreseeable future - by going 6-1 as the starter after replacing Flacco in Week 11. He's completed just 58.23 percent of his passes for 1,114 yards with five touchdowns and three interceptions over that time, but he's torched the league on the ground for 556 yards and four touchdowns on 119 rushing attempts.
Flacco set a high bar for any rookie quarterback who would follow him in Baltimore by leading the Ravens to the AFC Championship Game against the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2008.
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